Turkish carpets conquered world, leaving Armenia in shadow - historian
15:50 - 01.06.13
The Turkish expansionism to master the neighboring nations'
carpet-making art yielded its fruits in the past century and half,
developing the concept of Seljuk or Muslim carpets, says an Armenian
historian.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Ashkhunj Poghosyan, a PhD candidate
in historical sciences specialized in the carpet arts, expressed
regret that carpet-making in Armenia fell far behind Turkey which did
not originally have such a culture.
`It was thoroughly planned. The Turkish tribes had to become a nation,
after all; they did have that realization. And in order to be a
nation, one needs a cultural haze. And the culture - ranging from
architecture to carpet-making - of all the nations that lived in the
region was chosen an appropriate target,' the expert said, noting that
the trend goes back to the second decade of the century when Turkish
universities launched chairs in applied arts and founded corresponding
research centers across the country.
Poghosyan said the idea was prompted by German orientalists whose plan
received the nationalistic government's approval.
`The network is very well organized in Turkey, and it is very good
they have done such a thing for themselves. Of course, that's too bad
for us, but they were not supposed to think about us. We should have
thought about that,' he said, adding that the same remarks also go for
Azerbaijan which began developing the trend in the 1960s.
But instead of talking and criticizing the neighbors, the expert
proposed taking specific steps, particularly opening carpet museums
and research institutions in Armenia and launching university
departments dealing with carpet-making culture.
`Most have no idea about Armenia or the Armenian carpets, as the USSR
used to export them with the `Soyuz Export' [Union export] labeling.
But the recent couple of years' struggle and advertising did finally
produce a result. And the world community finally came to know about
the Armenian carpet,' added Leonid Andreasyan, a marketing and
manufacturing director at the Art Studio Mergelyan.
He said the company's efforts have helped suppress the Turkish
manufacturers on the international markets, adding that they managed
to annually export 15,000 sq. meters of carpets until the 2009 global
recession.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/06/01/carpet/
15:50 - 01.06.13
The Turkish expansionism to master the neighboring nations'
carpet-making art yielded its fruits in the past century and half,
developing the concept of Seljuk or Muslim carpets, says an Armenian
historian.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Ashkhunj Poghosyan, a PhD candidate
in historical sciences specialized in the carpet arts, expressed
regret that carpet-making in Armenia fell far behind Turkey which did
not originally have such a culture.
`It was thoroughly planned. The Turkish tribes had to become a nation,
after all; they did have that realization. And in order to be a
nation, one needs a cultural haze. And the culture - ranging from
architecture to carpet-making - of all the nations that lived in the
region was chosen an appropriate target,' the expert said, noting that
the trend goes back to the second decade of the century when Turkish
universities launched chairs in applied arts and founded corresponding
research centers across the country.
Poghosyan said the idea was prompted by German orientalists whose plan
received the nationalistic government's approval.
`The network is very well organized in Turkey, and it is very good
they have done such a thing for themselves. Of course, that's too bad
for us, but they were not supposed to think about us. We should have
thought about that,' he said, adding that the same remarks also go for
Azerbaijan which began developing the trend in the 1960s.
But instead of talking and criticizing the neighbors, the expert
proposed taking specific steps, particularly opening carpet museums
and research institutions in Armenia and launching university
departments dealing with carpet-making culture.
`Most have no idea about Armenia or the Armenian carpets, as the USSR
used to export them with the `Soyuz Export' [Union export] labeling.
But the recent couple of years' struggle and advertising did finally
produce a result. And the world community finally came to know about
the Armenian carpet,' added Leonid Andreasyan, a marketing and
manufacturing director at the Art Studio Mergelyan.
He said the company's efforts have helped suppress the Turkish
manufacturers on the international markets, adding that they managed
to annually export 15,000 sq. meters of carpets until the 2009 global
recession.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/06/01/carpet/